http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,63702,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1
Hundreds Of Cities Say
No To Patriot Act
By Kim Zetter
Wired News
6-7-4
Forget drug-free and nuclear-free zones. A growing grassroots movement seeks
to make the United States a Patriot Act-free zone, one city at a time. Or,
at the very least, the people behind the movement hope to make their cities
constitutional safe zones. In the past two years, more than 300 cities and four
states have passed resolutions calling on Congress to repeal or change parts
of the USA Patriot Act that, activists say, violate constitutional rights such
as free speech and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.
Barring that, the resolutions declare that their communities will uphold the
constitutional rights of their residents should federal law enforcement
agents come knocking on the door of local authorities for assistance in tracking
residents. This means local authorities will insist on complying with federal
orders only in ways that do not violate constitutional rights. The resolutions
are not binding, however, and do not affect the federal government\'s actions.
The national movement was launched in 2001 by the Bill of Rights Defense
Committee, an organization led by activist Nancy Talanian. Talanian first lobbied
her community -- Northhampton, Massachusetts, a town of 30,000 people -- to
stand against the act in November 2001, when few people had heard about the
legislation.
Talanian and fellow activists urged newspaper editors to write about the
legislation and hosted a public forum attended by 400 people, including
Northampton\'s mayor and chief of police. Word spread quickly to other communities, four
of which passed their own resolutions before Northampton passed its
declaration the following May. Two years later, 322 municipalities and four states --
Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont -- have Patriot Act resolutions.
Congress passed the USA Patriot Act swiftly in October 2001, 45 days after
the Sept. 11 attacks, easing restrictions on the government\'s ability to dig up
personal information about citizens and non-citizens, and obtain wiretaps and
search warrants. Only one senator, Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), and 61 House
of Representative members voted against the legislation. Under the act,
federal investigators can obtain individuals\' library, financial, health and
education records from cities while barring municipal workers from letting anyone
know authorities have seized the documents. Officials can also monitor the
activities of people who have not been identified as suspects and search a home or
office without prior notice. ......
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